Looking at least season alone, the 49ers boasted a 12-4 record and a third-straight appearance in the NFC Championship game. On the flip side, the Cowboys posted a mere 8-8 record in arguably the worst division in football last season, the NFC East.

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The Cowboys defense will likely be as problematic in 2014 as it was a year ago.

While the 49ers ranked in the top 10 of almost every defensive category in 2013, the Cowboys were at the bottom. Their questionable defense was No. 30 in passing yards against (4,589) and No. 27 in rushing yards against (2,056).

But this is a new season. Things will invariably change, which forces us to take further evaluation when predicting this Week 1 outcome.

Let's take a look around the sports world and see what the experts are saying about San Francisco's chances in this one. We'll summarize their picks and go into detail about why they chose one team over the other.

We'll start off our list by taking a look at what the experts over at CBS Sports are saying.

CBS Sports Expert Picks: San Francisco @ Dallas

Straight-Up Pick

Against the Spread

Pete Prisco

49ers

49ers

Jason La Canfora

49ers

49ers

Will Brinson

49ers

Cowboys

Josh Katzowitz

49ers

Cowboys

Ryan Wilson

49ers

49ers

John Breech

Cowboys

Cowboys

Dave Richard

49ers

49ers

Jamey Eisenberg

49ers

Cowboys

Prediction Machine

49ers

N/A

cbssports.com

All of CBS Sports' experts are picking the 49ers to take this Week 1 matchup over the Cowboys with the exception of John Breech.

Breech goes into detail as to why Dallas will be able to upset San Francisco—an interesting assumption given the vast difference in talent on these two franchises:

The Cowboys defense was bad last year and it most likely won't be good this year. But the 49ers defense also has holes to fill with Glenn Dorsey, Aldon Smith and NaVorro Bowman all getting set to miss substantial time this season. If there was something important on the line in this game—like a playoff berth—I'd pick against Tony Romo 107 times out of 107 times, but there's not a playoff berth on the line and the game's in Dallas. Also, Jerry Jones said the Cowboys might be bad this year and he's knows nothing about football, which means they're going to be good.

The loss of Aldon Smith and NaVorro Bowman are significant without question. This will put plenty of pressure on second-year pro Corey Lemonier and backup linebacker Michael Wilhoite in their respective steads.

Dorsey's absence isn't as significant given that the 49ers have a fully healthy complement of Ian Williams and Quinton Dial at nose tackle. Remember, Williams won the position battle a year ago before missing the rest of 2013 with an injury.

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Ian Williams was named the starting defensive tackle over Glenn Dorsey in 2013 before an injury sidelined him for the season.

If Breech had predicted the 49ers coming out sloppy and coughing up a loss, his argument might be a bit more believable. As it stands, Breech's assessment doesn't make much sense.

It is worth pointing out though that Pete Prisco makes a bold prediction—citing many of the same problems Breech points out—that the 49ers will miss the playoffs entirely and that head coach Jim Harbaugh will bolt for Dallas after the season.

The front seven, the power of the 49ers' defense, now will be without Bowman and Smith for two months -- and Justin Smith a year older.

Once again, the 49ers emerge as clear favorites from the large panel of ESPN's analysts. While Tom Jackson, Mike Ditka and Keyshawn Johnson are going with the Cowboys, San Francisco still emerges as the best option.

Shifting our focus once more, let's take a look at the experts at Fox Sports.

Jim Harbaugh has been in San Francisco for three years and has reached the NFC Championship game every time. With a balance of great defense and, at times, a breakout offense, the 49ers can produce solid fantasy football talent across the board. Though the final numbers possess a positive outcome, the streakiness of the players in the 49ers offense can provide owners with a Candlestick Park-sized headache every week, I’m looking at you Colin Kaepernick.

Let's apply this to the case study against Dallas in Week 1. As noted, the 49ers can be relatively streaky on offense—an aspect even the most casual 49ers fan can point out.

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Colin Kaepernick will look to get San Francisco's offense on track against a weak Dallas defense.

But as Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com points out, a weak and vulnerable Cowboys defense is the perfect cure for San Francisco's inconsistent offense.

Lastly, let's poll some of Bleacher Report's own featured columnists and see what they're saying about this Week 1 matchup:

The interesting part of some analysts' projections is that the score is both high and relatively close.

Cook suggests San Francisco will scrape by 31-30, while Gould predicts a 31-24 victory. This leads us to believe that Dallas' only chance is to take advantage of a depleted 49ers defense without the assistance of Bowman and Smith.

But Davenport points out the weaknesses within the Cowboys' own defense, which will give Colin Kaepernick and Co. a perfect opportunity to get back on track:

However, if ever there was a Week 1 opponent tailor-made to get Colin Kaepernick and the 49ers offense on track, it's the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas fielded the worst defense in the NFL last year. Now that defense is also without defensive end DeMarcus Ware (released), tackle Jason Hatcher (left in free agency) and linebacker Sean Lee (torn ACL).

Rookie DeMarcus Lawrence, who the Cowboys drafted in the hopes of replacing some of the pass rush lost by the departures of Ware and Hatcher, broke his foot in the preseason.

It's so bad that not only did the Cowboys trade for linebacker Rolando McClain (who was out of the NFL entirely last year), but McClain will start at middle linebacker for Dallas in Week 1.

This is essentially what the entire argument boils down to. The Cowboys defense has far too many holes to put up a substantial fight against the 49ers offense regardless of San Francisco's first-team offensive woes during the preseason.

Remember, the 49ers love to run the ball, and we can expect them to do so in spite of the upgraded receiving corps formulated during the offseason. Running the ball wears down thin defenses and takes time off the clock.

Cowboys shade double coverage to VD with McClain & Church and that leaves Boldin/Crabs in single. Utilize dime, Gore/Hyde will dominate.